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diff --git a/old/60796.txt b/old/60796.txt deleted file mode 100644 index 749f5ab..0000000 --- a/old/60796.txt +++ /dev/null @@ -1,2928 +0,0 @@ -The Project Gutenberg EBook of The Second Mate, by Henry Bedford-Jones - -This eBook is for the use of anyone anywhere in the United States and most -other parts of the world at no cost and with almost no restrictions -whatsoever. You may copy it, give it away or re-use it under the terms of -the Project Gutenberg License included with this eBook or online at -www.gutenberg.org. If you are not located in the United States, you'll have -to check the laws of the country where you are located before using this ebook. - -Title: The Second Mate - -Author: Henry Bedford-Jones - -Release Date: November 26, 2019 [EBook #60796] - -Language: English - -Character set encoding: ASCII - -*** START OF THIS PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK THE SECOND MATE *** - - - - -Produced by Al Haines - - - - - - - - - -[Illustration: Cover art] - - - - - THE - SECOND MATE - - BY - H. BEDFORD-JONES - - - GARDEN CITY NEW YORK - GARDEN CITY PUBLISHING CO., INC. - 1923 - - - - - COPYRIGHT, 1922, BY - DOUBLEDAY, PAGE & COMPANY - - ALL RIGHTS RESERVED, INCLUDING THAT OF TRANSLATION - INTO FOREIGN LANGUAGES, INCLUDING THE SCANDINAVIAN - - PRINTED IN THE UNITED STATES - AT - THE COUNTRY LIFE PRESS, GARDEN CITY, N. Y. - - _First Edition_ - - - - -THE SECOND MATE - - - -I - -The _Sulu Queen_ was steaming south at an eight-knot clip, which for -her was exceedingly good, bound for Macassar, Singapore and way -ports, according to the dispensation of Providence. Her tail shaft -was likely to go at any minute; she had an erratic list to starboard; -her pumps could barely keep down the water that seeped through her -loose plates; but she was going. Just to be going was an achievement -for the _Sulu Queen_. She was certain not to be going for very long. - -Her Macaense--or Portuguese Eurasian--skipper was enjoying an opium -dream in his cabin. Her chief engineer, a one-eyed Cyclops who had -long since buried his Glasgow accent under a maze of tropic -profanity, was dead drunk. Her black gang was composed of Macao -coolies. Her men forward were lascars, under a mild-eyed Malay -serang who was an escaped murderer from Bilibid Prison. Her two -quartermasters were Chinese, and efficient. Her supercargo was a -Straits Chinese comprador, a Singapore man. Her mate was a hulking -Dutchman, rotten with gin alow and aloft. Her second mate was Jim -Barnes, for whose labor all these others drew pay. - -She carried nine passengers. Abdullah, an Arab merchant, was going -home to Macassar, taking with him his first wife and five offspring. -How the Slave of God, as his name bore witness, ever got to Canton -with so many, was a mystery; what had become of the other three -lawful wives, not to mention the unlawful ones, was a greater -mystery. The other two passengers were Nora Sayers and Ellen Maggs. - -They were missionaries of some kind in China, had been ordered to -voyage for their health, and as their funds were low, had taken the -_Sulu Queen_. Jim Barnes had been too busy to ask questions. He -would have welcomed them on the bridge, except that the Dutchman and -the chief were both up there, nearly naked and rather soused. They -had been there in that condition since leaving Cantop. When he -explained the matter to them, Ellen Maggs blushed faintly, and Nora -Sayers was quite willing to come along anyhow; but Ellen prevailed. - -At two bells in the morning watch, Jim Barnes heaved a huge sigh of -relief and left the bridge, which he had perforce held since before -midnight. The islands were past; Simonor was dropping astern into -the horizon and ahead was the open Celebes Sea and a clear course for -Macassar. By some miracle the coral reefs had been evaded. - -Jim Barnes sought the galley and obtained some tea from the yellow -cook. He gulped it down and then started for his own cabin, meaning -to get some sleep. The quartermaster of his watch had the bridge and -a fair course. - -Then, at the door af his stateroom, he paused with a sudden oath. -The course was south by a quarter east; to his amazement, Barnes -discovered that the ship was swinging around until the sun was almost -astern. - -With another oath of weary, wondering disgust, he started for the -ladder. As he touched it, he heard his name spoken, and glanced -around. The other quartermaster, Li Fu by name, was gliding toward -him, and the yellow face was gleaming with inward excitement. - -"What is it?" demanded Barnes. - -"Maste', you watch out velly sha'p!" exclaimed Li Fu, low-voiced, -tense. "Bad piecee bobbery kick up, mebbeso two bells this -afte'noon! I think mebbeso all hands talkee-talkee make fo' mutiny. -Cap'n he say fo' tell you come see him." - -"You tell the skipper to go to hell," said Barnes. "Opium crazy, -that's what he is. Mutiny. Good gosh, we've nothing to mutiny for!" - -"Cap'n he say head in fo' Sesajap," persisted the Chinaman. - -Jim Barnes groaned. "Head in for Sesajap, eh? Heading in for -Borneo--the skipper changed the course, did he? That why we're -turning?" - -Li Fu nodded, beady eyes alert. - -"Well, I've no time now to palaver with that cursed Eurasian -topside," said Barnes bluntly. "You tell him to take the bridge or -chase Vanderhoof up there--I'm done. Savvy? I'm going to sleep. -Let everybody mutiny and be damned. I'm the only seaman aboard this -cursed packet anyhow. I'm tired o' doing ten men's work. Trouble -coming this afternoon, is it? Then let afternoon take care of -itself. I'll be ready to take the deck after this watch is -over--noon. And, listen! Tell the cap'n that if he don't shoot the -sun and verify his position after this running around, he'll land us -all in hell. You savvy that? Then tell him from me. And if he -wants to run us into Borneo, let him do it!" - -Li Fu grinned delightedly and stated that he savvied plenty. He, -like any efficient seaman, had no use for the other officers and -regarded Jim Barnes as a little tin god. Jim Barnes went into his -cabin, locked the door, stuck a chair under the knob, and then -dropped on his bunk, dead to the world. - - -Down in the engine-room, where the heat had sent the chief into a -drunken stupor, the Malay serang conferred with the two assistant -engineers. They were both men of color, being Macaense like the -skipper, but not, like him, owning a large share in the _Sulu Queen_. -Filling his mouth with betel paste, expectorating a scarlet stream -across the floor under the ladder, the serang spoke as he squatted -there with the two engineers. - -"The supercargo, Lim Tock, is a very clever man. He has arranged -everything into shares; there will be one hundred shares made of -everything. Fifty of these will be divided among the men, the other -fifty among us, the officers." - -"Good," assented the second engineer. "How many are in it, Gajah?" - -Gajah, the serang, spat again, and his soft eyes glowed luminously. - -"All the men, here and above. The wireless man, the two -quartermasters, _Tuan_ Barnes, and the cap'n must be killed. _Tuan_ -Vanderhoof will navigate the ship. He is a great coward, and after -his feet are burned he will be glad to serve us. This chief engineer -must be killed, too. Six altogether. You will attend to this chief." - -The two Eurasians looked at each other, then at the supinely snoring -figure of the chief. They grinned and nodded. The chief would be -drunk again after tiffin. - -"You are sure of the men?" asked the third. - -"Of course," said Gajah. "Lim Tock shipped them carefully at Canton, -and my own men are picked for the purpose." - -"Why has the course been changed?" demanded the second engineer. - -"Because I whispered into the ear of the cap'n," said Gajah, with a -meditative smile. "I told him that I knew a chief at one of the -islands in the mouth of the Sesajap River, who had a great deal of -gold dust, many birds' nests, and some fine pearls and shell. The -_tuan_ cap'n is very greedy. He changed the course immediately." - -"Is there such a man?" asked the third. Gajah grinned in derision. - -"Why not? Once I knew such a man at Sibuko, which is not far away. -He was the second cousin of my elder brother's third wife, and he was -very rich. I went to visit him, and induced his youngest wife to run -away with me. But she forgot to bring the pearls with her, being in -love with me, and so I slew her. That happened in Manila, and they -put me into prison because of it. The white _tuans_ did not -understand." - -"Well, when is this to take place?" asked the second engineer -nervously. - -"At the striking of two bells in the next watch." - -"It shall be done. Who is to command, after that?" - -"The supercargo, Lim Tock," answered the serang. "He is very clever. -A friend of his, also a member of the Lim family, is to meet us near -Bunju Island with a junk of which he is cap'n. Since the arrangement -is all Lim Tock's, he deserves to command. It was he who got the -opium put aboard at Macao." - -"One thing," put in the third, his dark and muddy eyes gleaming. -"The two white women! Surely they are not to be killed?" - -"One does not waste the gifts of Allah," said Gajah sententiously. -"The one with yellow hair goes to me; the other, who blushes often -and whose figure is that of the willow, will comfort Lim Tock for the -loss of his eldest son, who was hanged by the English last month for -killing a white _tuan_. After a little while we shall sell them to -chiefs along the coast, and so be rid of them. _Wallah_! It is hot -down here." - -He arose, knotted his fine silk _sarong_ more closely about his -waist, loosened his shagreen-hilted kris in its sheath, and departed. -They two engineers looked at each other, and a slow smile passed -between them. - -"She of the yellow hair," said the third reflectively, "is tall and -strong, of high spirit, and a fitting mate for me, whose veins run -with the proud blood of the da Soussas!" - -"And she of the lissome body," said the second engineer, rubbing his -bristly chin, "has ere now smiled very sweetly upon me. It is not -proper that yellow and brown island scum should have precedence -before us, men descended from the conquistadors!" - -"I agree with you," responded the other. "But what are we to do?" - -"First secure the ship," said the second promptly. "Then -secure--what we want." - -"Good!" agreed the third engineer with emphasis. "Let us consider -the matter." - - -Meantime, in the chart-house Li Fu had delivered the second mate's -message to the befuddled skipper, who sat dreamily over his charts. -The message was literally delivered, but it could not stir the -captain into action. He was lost in the reverie of contemplation -that comes of good opium; not actual dreams, as some think, but a -complacent sweetishness in the mind that shoves aside all immediate -problems and refuses to take a crisis seriously. - -The captain, indeed, was a lost soul. Usually your opium-eater -cannot smoke the drug at all, and the smoker cannot attain Nirvana by -eating it. This Macaense, however, both ate and smoked, thereby -letting damnation into himself by two channels. He was a thin, pasty -man, once of powerful physique, but now rather rickety on his pins. - -"One hundred and seventy miles to the mouth of the Sesajap," he -murmured. "We shall reach it at five o'clock tomorrow morning." - -He gave over thinking and plucked vacuously at his thin mustaches. - -"Providing the engines hold," added Li Fu, who spoke better -Portuguese than English. "If the night is clear, there will be a new -moon. We should sight the coast by midnight." - -"The engines!" repeated the skipper. "Where is the chief? He was -here an hour ago." - -"He went below, sir. The mate woke up and went into the wheel-house." - -"Bring him here, Li Fu." - -The quartermaster went out of the chart-house, presently to return -alone. - -"He is asleep, sir. We cannot wake him." - -"Drunk, eh? Never mind, never mind. I will take the observation -myself at noon-- - -"And at two bells, sir," reminded Li Fu cautiously. - -"Oh, you are a fool, Quartermaster! These men will not mutiny. -There is no reason for it. You are not used to Lascars and must not -be a fool. I shall go to rest and make ready my instruments. The -course is to be held as it is." - -The captain rose and, with a sigh of relief that no more duty -presented itself, made his way back to his cabin. - -Li Fu studied the outspread chart and lighted a cigarette. After a -while, the other quartermaster left the wheel lashed and came into -the chart-house, also lighting a cigarette. The two men greeted each -other quietly. Like Li Fu, Quartermaster Hi John was a stalwart, -efficient seaman, calm and well poised. He addressed Li Fu in the -Cantonese dialect. - -"You told him, Li?" - -"I told him," said Li Fu. "He went to sleep. He was very weary." - -"Did you find out why the captain changed the course?" - -"No. He thinks more about his _hap toi_ than about what I ask him. -I woke up the chief and told him, but he was too drunk to understand. -He asked if there was no help for the widow's son, and went to sleep -again. His mind is gone." - -"The second mate will fight," said Hi John thoughtfully. - -"If he is not slain before he gets a chance." - -"There remains the wireless officer." - -"True. He remains." - -The two men looked at each other and smiled mirthlessly. The -wireless man was the privileged son of a Macaense, chief owner of the -_Sulu Queen_. Cumshaw had obtained his berth; he did not know one -end of the wireless from another, as the quartermasters had learned -when Jim Barnes cursed him for an idiotic fool. He was no better -than an idiot; he was, indeed, some degrees worse, since the diseased -degeneracy of Asia was his heritage. - -"Then you and I are alone," said Hi John. - -"We are alone. What answer shall we make to Lim Tock when the time -comes?" - -Hi John extinguished his cigarette. - -"Duty is a shining star, Li Fu. I have a revolver in my bag." - -"I have one also," said Li Fu. "Yet I do not want to swallow gold." - -"Nor I; this life is good." Hi John lighted another cigarette. -"Still, consider duty! Lim Tock is a terrible man. It was he who -sank the Dutch steamer last year, before his son was hung. His son -helped him. They each got two Dutch women and much money. If we do -not join him, Li, I think that we shall both swallow gold." - -"Yes. Then you join him." - -"Oh, no." Hi John's singsong tones were soft. "Oh, no! I did not -mean that." - -Li Fu looked slightly ironic. "You think this ship worth dying for? -Or those white women beautiful enough to die for?" - -"Not at all," said Hi John. "The ship is a rotten hulk. The women -are ugly and pale as ghosts. I care nothing what becomes of either. -At the same time, I revere the wisdom of my paternal parent, who was -also an officer in a ship. Before he swallowed gold, he asked me to -take an oath, that I would never swerve from my duty. Therefore I -cannot well join Lim Tock, since I undertook a certain duty aboard -this ship." - -"That is true," said Li Fu. "I have no oath to restrain me, but my -duty needs no oath. Therefore I agree with you fully. I shall get -my revolver, and also yours, while you are on the bridge; I have had -it two rice-years, but it is a good one." - -"Very well," said Hi John. "Give me mine when you have the -opportunity." - - -While these two men talked on the bridge-deck, Lim Tock, the -super-cargo, walked aft on the main-deck, past the dingy -passenger-cabins where the brood of Abdullah swarmed about the two -"missionary ladies." Lim Tock was an elderly Straits Chinaman, with -a short, gray mustache, a drawn, parchment face, and two bright and -glittering gray eyes--a most amazing pair of eyes to be staring from -a saffron face! Yet some Chinese are gray-eyed. - -In the stern, he came upon Abdullah, the Arab merchant, who was -reading a Koran. The Arab looked up, smiled slightly, and spoke in -the Low Malay which most men use in the island seas. This Slave of -God was a thin and deadly looking person, fierce with his hook nose -and jutting shreds of beard and jetty eyes. - -"All is arranged?" - -"It is arranged," said Lim Tock. "You agree to take the white women -off our hands?" - -"Yes; and to ask no other share of the rewards." - -Lim Tock inclined his head and passed on around to the starboard -passage. There he came upon Gajah, the serang, busy doing nothing. -To him Lim Tock spoke in High Malay, a tongue which very few men know -or understand, even in the island seas. - -"Abdullah suspects nothing. His boxes will be rich plunder. Let him -be the first to fall, and his children after him--a clean sweep." - -"And the woman, his wife?" asked the Lascar serang. - -"She has borne many and is past pleasing. Let her accompany -Abdullah." - -The serang nodded indifferently and Lim Tock went his way. - -While men thus talked and schemed and counseled together alow and -aloft, Jim Barnes slept. - - - - -II - -Nora Sayers was tall and active, with brilliant yellow hair and very -deep violet eyes; a young woman of great energy, who had seen too -much bloodshed in the revolutionary fighting around Pekin, and who -had turned her mission station into a hospital of tortured men. -Ellen Maggs, smaller, very slender and frail in looks, was newer to -China, but she, too, had seen so many horrors that the powers above -had thought best to send both women away on a sea voyage in company. -Ellen Maggs, however, had more steel beneath her quiet and -old-fashioned exterior than men imagined possible. - -When they entered the mess saloon at eight bells, noon, they were not -surprised to find themselves alone. They had by this time grown used -to the peculiar conditions prevailing aboard the _Sulu Queen_. The -chief had a lurking sense of shame that kept him from their presence. -The captain had the bridge. The wireless officer came in, bowed very -effusively, and seated himself. He could speak no English, and -listened staringly to the laughter and light chatter of the two -women. Abdullah and his family ate by themselves. - -Presently Jim Barnes entered, bathed and shaven and with his usual -air of radiating high good-humor. Almost at the same moment came -Vanderhoof, eyes bloodshot, walk unsteady, to seat himself with a -grunt and absorb quantities of coffee and rice-curry. He gave Barnes -a scowling regard across the table. - -"Der cap'n say for you to take der pridge," he growled. - -"Not me," said Barnes pleasantly. "Now that we've open sea ahead, -you and he can do a little work, Van. Everything's galley-west -aboard this hooker, and the watches might as well go with the rest." - -The yellow steward set an open gin-bottle beside the mate, who poured -a tumbler full, then glared at Barnes. - -"By chiminy," he said, "d'you refuse to opey orders, huh?" - -"You bet I do," said Jim Barnes, his eyes twinkling. "And if you -know what's good for your health, Van, you'll sober up before you try -to give me any. Savvy that?" - -Despite the cheerful accent, something in the steady and level regard -of the second mate caused Vanderhoof to drink down his gin without -making any response. When he had emptied the bottle, he shoved back -his chair and left the cabin. - -"Well, ladies," said Barnes, "how do you find yourselves this -morning? Rather warm last night. Did your fan work all right?" - -"Quite, thanks," and Nora Sayers smiled. "Aren't you just a trifle -independent with your superior officers, Mr. Barnes? I thought all -sailors were very polite----" - -Barnes grinned. "Oh, me and Van? Don't pay any attention to that, -Miss Sayers. He was just trying to show his authority in front of -you and Miss Maggs." - -"Oh!" Nora Sayers laughed. "Isn't it mutiny to refuse to obey -orders?" - -"Not aboard this packet. The skipper has been hitting the pipe all -morning and now he's got us headed slap for Borneo. Lord knows why; -I don't." - -Ellen Maggs smiled shyly. - -"You're the most happily irresponsible person I ever met, Mr. -Barnes," she said. "And so is this ship. Every voyage in her must -be a delightful adventure, if it's like this one! Have you been with -her long?" - -"This is my first and last," said Barnes drily. "You can't say that -you've enjoyed yourselves so far, can you?" - -"I have, every minute of it!" exclaimed Ellen Maggs, an unwonted -sparkle in her eyes. - -"And so have I," asserted Nora Sayers with energy. "Look at the -queer people we've met! This funny little man down the table, who -stares and giggles----" - -"He's part idiot," interjected Jim Barnes. "But who else?" - -"All of them! The poor old captain, with his politeness and queer -abstractions and----" - -"The old man's only forty," and Barnes chuckled. "But the hops gets -'em early. So you like the Eurasians, do you?" - -"I don't like them, no, but they're interesting," stated Miss Sayers. -"And the chief engineer is queer, too, only he won't talk--==" - -"I was talking with him early this morning," put in Ellen Maggs. -"He's a dear old man, Nora. He was telling me all about his early -life in Scotland." - -"He always does," put in Jim Barnes, "when he's in the middle of a -big spree. Oh, don't look shocked! Won't do any good. I guess you -ladies are disappointed that you didn't find another queer duck in -the second officer's shoes, eh? Or am I queer, too?" - -"You're just human," declared Miss Sayers promptly. "Only you're too -busy to be very polite." - -"I'm going to be busier yet, right after lunch," said Jim Barnes. -"Oh, Steward! Get me some more of that curry." - -"Why, what have you found now to keep you occupied?" asked Ellen -Maggs, interested. - -Jim Barnes did not respond until the steward had left the cabin. -Then he spoke cheerfully, as he sugared his coffee with some care. - -"Me? I've got to set the ship afire. As soon as they give the -alarm, I want you two ladies to come up to the upper bridge-deck, and -come quick! I'll be in the chart-house----" - -"You mean that little coop up above the bridge, with the awning?" -asked Nora Sayers. - -"Just that. I'll get there before they discover the blaze." - -The two women stared at him, then glanced at each other in perplexed -wonder. - -"What do you mean, Mr. Barnes?" demanded Ellen Maggs, a faint touch -of color in her cheeks. "Are you joking about getting the ship -afire?" - -"No," said Jim Barnes. His tone was unusually crisp, and the look -that he gave them was keen and incisive. "No. Don't let out a peep -before the steward, now! A mutiny is due to start at one o'clock, -and, so far as I can see, most of the officers will get wiped out at -the first crack. Mutiny or piracy, I'm not sure which. I've got to -set the hooker afire and keep the men so blamed busy they'll have no -time for murder. Please pass the butter, Miss Maggs." - -His matter-of-fact manner made the two women at first doubt his -words, then believe them with a frightful sense of conviction; Ellen -Maggs stared at him from eyes that slowly widened. Glancing up and -meeting her gaze, Jim Barnes was suddenly startled by the intensity -of her look, by the revealed womanhood he saw in her face; he had not -dreamed that she could look so beautiful. - -"I'm sorry I scared you," he said, smilingly. There was an -infectious quality to his smile; perhaps because of his direct blue -eyes, wrinkled at the corners; perhaps because of his wide and -humorous mouth and strong chin. "But the steward's coming now----" - -"You're in earnest?" demanded Nora Sayers, who had gone a little -white. - -"Quite. Nobody aboard can use the wireless, unless you ladies can. -Any chance?" - -Ellen Maggs shook her head. - -"No chance," she said, and astonished Jim Barnes by smiling. "But I -have a pistol in my suitcase----" - -"Fine!" exclaimed Barnes heartily. The steward entered with his -plate of curry. "You get it. And you girls might as well buckle -down to the fact that before we get through there's going to be a -large slice of the lower regions laid bare aboard this hooker. Is -that an engagement ring you're wearing, Miss Sayers? Pardon -personalities; I'm asking for a reason." - -"Yes." Nora Sayers twisted the ring on her finger. "It's----" - -"All right. If you ever want to add a plain gold hoop to it, you -remember that there's just one man aboard who can pull you out o' -this, and that's me. I don't want any interference, and I do want -help. Get me?" - -"Yes!" exclaimed Ellen Maggs, and her eyes were shining. "Just where -do you want us to come, please? You spoke about the chart-house----" - -"Come there, and I'll see you up safe to the awning deck above. A -little before two bells. Bring with you anything that you value very -highly. We may stave off this fuss until night, in which case we'll -be all right. Well, cheer up and don't worry! See you later." - -Jim Barnes pushed back his chair, produced his pipe, and began to -fill it as he left the mess saloon. He stood by the rail a moment, -until his pipe was lighted. - -"I guess that was laying bare the situation with a rough and brutal -hand," he said, and chuckled softly. "Had to be done, though. And -now I've got to step mighty carefully. Most likely those assistant -engineers are in on the game; they're Eurasians, too, so I can't take -chances. If anyone suspects that I know about things, the blow-off -will come before two bells--which would spoil everything for me. But -lordy! What a pippin that little Maggs girl is! She's a regular -guy." - -From his language, it might be inferred that Jim Barnes was an -American. - -Puffing at his pipe, he sought the engine-room. The chief blinked up -at him from a huge plate of curry. A glance showed Barnes that -neither of the assistants were about, and he ventured an open word. - -"Chief, wake up! Mutiny is scheduled for two bells, and if you don't -want your throat cut you'd better be advised----" - -"Get oot o' ma engine-room!" ordered the chief with dignity. "Ye -drunken scut, can ye not bear your liquor like a man? I'll hae no -drunken officers cooming doon here to be bawlin' o' mutinies in ma -ear! Tak' shame to yoursel', sir!" - -Barnes compressed his lips and turned away. It was useless. - -The _Sulu Queen_, originally a well-decked tramp, had been fitted up -rather shabbily to carry passengers in the island trade, the after -portion of the deck-house having been added to for this purpose. -Carrying all the oily waste he could conceal about his person, Jim -Barnes made his way aft to one of the unoccupied cabins. The two -white passengers were not in sight. In the stern, beneath a tattered -awning, Abdullah sat smoking a water-pipe, his wife and family around -him. - -"They're safe enough," observed Barnes, as he ducked into the cabin -he sought. "Even if the old packet can't get up enough steam to -check the flames, and goes down, they'll be taken care of. So, on -with the dance!" - -The fact that he was committing various sorts of barratry and felony, -did not worry Jim Barnes in the least. - -The storm season being past, the lookout or awning-deck above the -pilot-house was fitted up with awning and canvas aprons and some -chairs, but remained almost unused. The additional climb of a dozen -feet from the chart-and pilot-house was far too much trouble for the -captain and others; besides which, the place was no more than a box a -dozen feet square, and was hot. A single ladder ascended to it from -the bridge deck, which it overlooked completely. - - -Shortly before two bells, Jim Barnes welcomed Ellen Maggs and Nora -Sayers, as they came up to the bridge. He was alone there, with Li -Fu and two of the lascars in the chart-house. Down in the bows, Lim -Tock, the supercargo, was standing in talk with the steward, and both -watches were idling about the deck. - -"How do we get upstairs?" asked Ellen Maggs. - -"Right this way, ladies!" answered Barnes cheerfully. "Chairs up -there and a couple of old magazines, as well as a breaker of water -and some other things. Whatever happens, don't worry--and wait for -me. Here you are!" - -As they vanished up the ladder, he re-entered the chart-house and -addressed the two lascar seamen. - -"Run, quick! One of you to the serang, the other to Lim Tock. Say -that I smell smoke, and have search made for fire. Look at the -bunkers, but don't take off the hatches until the last thing. If -there's a fire in the forward hold, call me." - -A startled glance passed between the two men, and they jumped for the -ladder. Jim Barnes turned to the quartermaster, smiling slightly. - -"Where is Hi John?" - -"Him look velly sharp, I think." - -"We can depend on him?" - -Li Fu nodded. - -"All right, then," said Barnes. "You go tell him to come up here. -Then take charge of those lascars and keep 'em out of the after -cabins for a while, until the fire shows itself. You savvy? Don't -be in any hurry to put it out, either. We'll hold this thing off -until night if we can." - -Across the saffron features flitted a look of admiration, for Li Fu -comprehended the plan instantly. Then the quartermaster was gone. -Barnes looked at the chronometer. It lacked five minutes of one. - -"Two bells won't be struck," he thought, as he swung the wheel. - -He grinned at sight of the commotion below. Lim Tock was yelling -orders at those of the black gang whom he could see. Gajah, the -serang, was whistling at his lascars shrilly. Then he remembered the -chief engineer, and rang the bell. One of the assistants answered in -the tube. - -"Ship's on fire," said Jim Barnes, chuckling to himself. "Stop your -engines and keep up a full head o' steam for the hose." - -Hi John appeared, gave Barnes a brief nod and a grin, and took the -wheel. There had never been any fire drill aboard the _Sulu Queen_ -in the memory of man, but Barnes blew the whistle nevertheless and -added to the confusion. Vanderhoof's bellow arose from below, -followed by an outburst of yells and shouts from aft. - -"They've found it," said Barnes. - -He went to the bridge rail and glanced aft. A trail of smoke and -steam was veering out in the wake of the steamer. Barnes listened -for a little to the sounds of tumultuous confusion, then rejoined the -quartermaster. - -"How did you and Li Fu know so much about this mutiny?" he demanded. - -"Talkee-talkee," rejoined Hi John curtly. "My savvy lascar talk -plenty." - -"Oh! Understand Malay, do you? Good work. What reason have they to -mutiny?" - -Hi John had picked up a good deal of information. He knew that the -rich boxes of the merchant Abdullah were to be looted, and that there -was a large amount of opium down below, to be transferred to a -Chinese junk and landed somewhere along the Bornean coast. -Undoubtedly, the _Sulu Queen_ was to be stripped of everything -valuable, then quietly sunk in deep water. Lim Tock was in it, the -serang Gajah was in it, and the Chinese junk was in it; so were some -of the officers and all the men aboard. - -Reluctantly Jim Barnes became convinced that to strive against the -inevitable would be useless. Except for these two Chinese, he could -depend upon no one. Had he been alone on the ship, his actions would -have been simple and perhaps effectual. - -"I'd like to go down there and shoot the supercargo, the serang, and -a few of the men, and get the old hooker into port," he said to Hi -John. "But the safety of those two white women is worth more than -this damned old carcass of a boat. I can't risk it." - -Hi John looked bewildered at this reasoning, which he could not -understand. At this instant Li Fu came up the port ladder, panting, -and grinned as he saluted Barnes. - -"Mutiny makee, no matter! I think they wait, same time tonight, -mebbeso." - -"Two bells evening watch?" demanded Barnes. - -"Aye, sir. Cap'n say go ahead on course, he makee fire go out." - -Barnes rang for full speed ahead, then questioned Li Fu. Both the -skipper and Vanderhoof were in charge, it seemed, and were fighting -the fire. Vanderhoof was somewhat sobered by the danger; the captain -was almost incapacitated and was acting like an old woman, according -to Li. The quartermaster was highly disgusted. It was the effort of -the serang, whose lascars were working hard, that was putting the -fire under control. - -Presently the skipper himself appeared, He was breathing hard and was -all in a tremble. He wiped his pallid brow and cursed heartily. - -"Fire under?" asked Barnes. - -"Yes, yes, or soon will be. No matter at all. Very disturbing," -panted the captain. "I must obtain some rest, must verify our -position. Keep her as she is, sir." - -He looked around, nervously fingered the chart, then departed. -Barnes looked after him in contempt, then went to the ladder leading -above. - -"Gone for a few pipes, the swine!" he muttered, then looked up and -raised his voice. "Come on down, girls. Mutiny's postponed until -tonight. False alarm and nobody killed yet." - - - - -III - -"What part are you from?" asked Jim Barnes. - -"Illinois," said Ellen Maggs. "From Elgin, where they make watches. -Were you ever there?" - -"No closer than the outside of a watch," responded Barnes. "But now -I'm going there some day." - -"Why?" - -"To see where you came from." - -Ellen Maggs laughed a little and actually forgot to blush. - -"Do it again," said Barnes. - -"Do what?" - -"Laugh that way. It's the prettiest thing I ever saw." - -Ellen blushed at that, then turned as Nora Sayers joined them. - -"Nora! Mr. Barnes comes from Baltimore, too! He was born there!" - -"Good for him!" Nora Sayers laughed in her hearty, energetic -fashion. "Perhaps you know my father there, Mr. Barnes--the -physician, Doctor Sayers?" - -"Don't know anybody there," admitted Jim Barnes. "I've been at sea -ever since the war finished up, and before. But I'm going to settle -down some day, across the bay from San Francisco. Ever been there, -Miss Maggs?" - -"Only when I came out to China." - -"Well," said Jim Barnes, in his whimsical [Transcriber's note: line -of text missing from source book] all picked out! A fine little -bungalow on one of the hills at Sausalito, where you can see the -ships all up and down the bay, and the campanile at Berkeley clear -across-- - -"Have you got the girl picked out, too?" asked Nora Sayers amusedly. - -"Well," said Jim Barnes, in his whimsical way, "I didn't have up to a -couple of weeks ago, but lately I've sort of got my mind made up. By -the way, girls, you'd better get all ready. We're going to leave the -ship in an hour or two." - -"Leave her?" they repeated as one, in dismayed accents. "How?" - -"You'll see. I'll take the bridge when watches are changed at eight -bells--eight o'clock. You come up to the bridge a little before -then, and stick around. Excuse me, now; I'll have to pack a few -things myself." - -Barnes hurried away, leaving the two women at the rail. - - -Dinner was over, a meal from which all three were glad to escape, -coming out on deck to find the sun gone and the afterglow staining -the horizon like old church windows. A tragic affair, that dinner! -The captain was ill and did not appear; Vanderhoof was on deck, more -drunk than usual; the second engineer quarreled with the wireless -cub, who lost his head in a fit of idiotic rage and had to be taken -away and locked up, screaming curses. The chief engineer was also -locked in his own cabin, enjoying a spell of "the horrors." - -Wishing vainly that he understood something about the wireless -outfit, Barnes sought his cabin and packed up the few belongings that -he wished to take from the ship. While he was at this task, Li Fu -knocked at the door and entered hurriedly. - -"Hello! What news? Is it set for two bells?" - -Li Fu assented. He was bursting with laughter over some joke of the -cruel Chinese variety, and Barnes presently learned what it was. He -was ordering Li to warn Abdullah of what was intended, with the -intent to get the Arab's family away safely, when the quartermaster -exploded in a laugh and reported a conversation that he had overheard -among some of the lascars. - -It appeared that Abdullah was as much in the plot as anyone, and was -to receive as his booty the two white women. The assistant engineers -had an eye on the same prey; while Lim Tock and Gajah, the serang, -were equally concerned. To the Chinese, this was a huge jest all -around, for it meant that the wolves would turn and rend each other. - -"Hell!" said Jim Barnes. "I hate to leave the kids here. But go -ahead, now; and tell Hi John to attend to the engines as soon as he -goes off watch, then to get up to the bridge and stand by. Have you -got the boat ready?" - -"Aye, sir," assented Li Fu. "Plenty wate'; eve'ything leady." - -"On your way, then!" - -Barnes made his way to the bridge, where Hi John and two lascars were -in charge, and passed behind the chart-house unremarked. Vanderhoof -was not in evidence. Aboard the _Sulu Queen_ the clear night was -already insufferably warm, for she was steaming with the wind. - -Passing to the centre starboard boat, Barnes found the cover loosely -in place. He put in his few effects, then gave his attention to the -lines. Like most old ships of a past generation, the steamer was -equipped with Clifford's lowering gear, the most beautiful boat-gear -ever devised, in theory, permitting a boat to be lowered by slacking -a single line. This was the boat carried for use in emergencies. It -was not stowed in chocks but was swung out and left clear, secured by -gripes to a toggle which could be slipped in ah instant. - -"If we have luck she'll do," thought Barnes, examining the lowering -line. "The pendants are new line and not swelled; we ought to get -down without spilling. Hm! If anybody'd ever told me that I'd owe -life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness to this cursed ancient -Clifford gear, I'd have called him a liar! But wait. We're not off -yet by a long shot." - -True enough. - - -An automatic in either side pocket of his jacket, Jim Barnes took -over the bridge from Hi John as eight bells struck. Then, dismay -seized upon him. His own lack of foresight had brought on the crisis -before he wanted or expected it! Ellen Maggs and Nora Sayers were on -the bridge. They had brought some personal effects, each in a small -grip; and from the look cast at them by the departing lascar -wheelmen, Barnes knew that suspicion was up. - -Two fresh lascars came to the wheel, with Li Fu. Disregarding these, -Barnes made a slight gesture to Hi John, who slipped out of sight -instantly on his errand below. Unless the engines were disabled, -Barnes knew that his preparations were of no avail. He greeted the -two women with his usual air of cheerful assurance, however. - -"All ready? Fine! The two quartermasters are with us. Come along, -now, and climb into the boat--no time to lose, I assure you! In ten -minutes this ship is going to be about the unhealthiest spot you ever -heard of." - -He led them around the chart-house toward the boat. - -"But the captain!" protested Nora Sayers. "Surely, if you know there -will be some trouble, the other officers----" - -"Nix," said Barnes. "Good Lord, girl! Haven't you seen already what -sort o' swine the others are? Hear that so-called wireless officer -scream? He's still off his head--and couldn't send a message if he -were sane. And the old man's soggy with opium. Here you are! Step -on this water breaker, and over into her; she's solid." - -Indeed, his words were given emphasis by the screaming of the -wireless man, which had broken out anew down below. Miss Sayers -stepped to the breaker, and Barnes helped her up into the boat. Then -he turned, picked up Ellen Maggs bodily and lifted her over the edge, -laughing as he did so. - -"Got your pistol? Good. Sit tight, and don't scream when things -bust loose. See you later." - -He left them hurriedly and returned to the wheel, fighting down his -appalling helplessness to prevent what was going to happen. About -the ship's officers he cared less than nothing; he was thinking now -of the Arab woman and her brown children below. Abdullah might or -might not protect them from the yellow fiends. - -The tall figure of the serang rose at the starboard ladder. One -glance from Li Fu told Barnes that this was the end. The two lascars -were here to finish the quartermaster, and Gajah had come to attend -to the second mate. The time was at hand. - -Barnes went to the door of the chart-house. A shot would do the -business, but he wanted no shooting up here if possible. - -"Serang!" he exclaimed crisply. "Step aft. Something I want to show -you." - -That suited the Malay, who loosened his kris in its sheath and -followed. At the corner of the chart-house, Barnes pointed across -the deck, obscure in the starlight, to the boat. - -"What's that?" - -Sincerely astonished, Gajah peered at the boat, with the two women -sitting in her. And as he stared, Barnes let drive with the heavy -barrel of his automatic, a full, fair blow across the skull. A grunt -broke from the serang, who pitched sideways and flung out his arms. -Barnes caught him and lowered the bleeding form to the deck, then -darted back to the chart-house. - -Just in time, too! For all his watchful care, Li Fu had been taken -unawares, one of the lascars gripping him in both arms, the other -with kris upraised for the blow. Barnes was in upon them unseen, and -struck down the man with the kris. The other lascar leaped away, -gained the far door of the chart-house--and ran into the arms of Hi -John. Something happened there. Steel flashed and a man gasped; the -lascar slipped to the deck quietly. - -"You two men watch the ladders!" snapped Barnes. "When you hear me -call, come to the boat." - -Revolvers out, each quartermaster took one of the ladders. Barnes -turned and ran aft along the deck at top speed, disregarding the low -call that the two women sent after him as he passed the boat. He was -listening desperately for sounds from below. They came to him, came -all in a jumble that his brain sorted out mechanically. First came a -jarring wrench that shook the whole ship. Then the engines stopped. -Whatever Hi John had done, the work was effective. And at the same -instant the night was split by a sudden cry. - -"Allah! Allah----" - -Then the screaming of the wireless man was cut very short. An oath -of desperation on his lips, Jim Barnes gained the small after ladder -that led to the stern of the main deck. From below him burst a storm -of cries; the shriek of a woman, the staccato yells of men, and a -thin, shrill wail that maddened him. He dropped to the deck below, -and found himself in the midst of an inferno, clearly illumined by -the deck-lights. - -Abdullah lay across his water-pipe, stabbed in the back. Nearby was -his eldest child, also stabbed, and two lascars were fighting to take -another child from the arms of its dying mother. Barnes saw only -this much, and then began to fire. He forgot everything but the -horror in front of him, and only laughed when several of the lascars -began to converge on him. - -A shot rang out from one of the forward cabins. Barnes, seizing the -child, thrust him up the ladder and then swung about to meet three -lascars plunging at him. He shot the first and second, ducked the -kris-swing of the third, then tripped the man and shot him as he -fell. Then he plunged for the nearest cabin, whence came screams. - -Just what happened next is something of which Jim Barnes never -speaks. The orders of Lim Tock, to make a clean sweep of Abdullah's -family, were being followed to the letter. Barnes was in the cabin -for fully a minute--which, just then, was a very long space of time. - -By the time he emerged, much had happened. There was a crashing and -smashing from the length of the cabins as the doors were battered in. -From the bridge, a spatter of revolver shots; and, from below, more -shots followed by the wild scream of the old chief as he reached the -deck--a scream of half rage, half agony. He died at the rail, -trailing blood across the deck, in his fist a blood-spattered -spanner. After him, the Chinese stokers poured up to the deck and -scattered for loot. - -Jim Barnes came out of the cabin, thrusting a dead lascar ahead of -him. About his neck clung one of Abdullah's daughters, and under his -left arm was another. From the passage leaped a stoker, whom Barnes -shot. Then, at the ladder, he urged the two little girls upward to -join their brother above. - -A shot rang out at him, and the bullet slithered on the steel beside -him. Barnes paused to empty his automatics, then went up the ladder -on the jump. At the top, he caught hold of the frightened children -and rushed them along, shouting as he did so to the two -quartermasters. - -They, after shooting at the forms down below on the foredeck and in -the well, joined him at the boat. Barnes chucked in the three -children and cast off the toggle. - -"In with you, men, and lower away! I'll slide down the pendant. -Where's your pistol, Ellen? Hand it over--thanks. Sit still, all of -you! Lower, Li, lower! That's it----" - -Li Fu slacked the lowering line about the cleat, and the boat fell -away rapidly. Barely in time, too; Barnes perceived a rush of -figures coming from the after ladder, and opened fire. They -scattered. - -There was a moment's breathing spell, while from fore and aft, alow -and aloft, rose sing-song calls in Cantonese and the harsher -gutturals of the lascars. A rush was being planned from both sides. - -Barnes caught a soft call from below, and breathed a prayer of -thanks. A number of figures showed at the corner of the chart-house. -He emptied his pistol at these, then turned, caught one of the -pendants hitched to the davit-head, and let himself go sliding down. - -A burst of yells rang out from the bridge deck, but he was in the -boat below ere any could reach the rail. The two quartermasters had -already put out the oars, and Barnes cast off the line and let the -pendants unreeve as the roller whirled. The boat started away from -the ship's side. - -"Here," came a voice, and Barnes felt one of his own pistols shoved -into his hand. "My clip fitted your automatic and----" - -"Good girl, Ellen!" he cried out, and laughed as he fired at the rail -above. A shot made answer, and a kris sang through the air to splash -alongside--but the boat was clear. She drew away from the ship -before the mutineers were sure just what had happened. - - - - -IV - -"There's one good thing we can say for the _Sulu Queen_," observed -Jim Barnes. "That is, she sailed under English board rules." - -"What has that to do with our present situation?" demanded Nora -Sayers. - -"It means that we've got a sprit rig stowed aboard. In oars, men! -Hi John, we'll be sailing before the wind, so lash your oar to the -for'ard thwart to make a boom for the fores'l. Li Fu, break out the -canvas. Get the mast stepped, then trim ship." - -Over the waves behind, the tumult had died, and the distant lights of -the _Sulu Queen_ showed only when the boat lifted on a crest. No -pursuit had been made, nor had the searchlight been put into effect. -Seemingly, Lim Tock was making no effort to find the boat. Probably -the supercargo was for the present unable to get his men in hand and -was also very likely to be busy getting the engines into working -order. - -When the centreboard was let down and the boat was being trimmed, Jim -Barnes surveyed her with acute satisfaction. She was a nearly new -whaleboat, fitted with a rudder in navy style, and well found in all -respects. With a grunt of delight, Barnes opened the oiled silk -wrapping of the matches, found the compass to be a good one, and set -it by his side in the stern. In another ten minutes the sprit was -up, the foresail rigged to the makeshift boom, and the whaleboat was -running before the wind toward Borneo. - -The eldest of the three children was barely six; none of them were -cognizant of what had happened. After whimpering a little, they were -soon asleep amidships, wrapped in the spare sail. - -"If you girls will come aft, you can curl up in the bottom of the -boat at my feet," said Barnes. "You'll be out of the wind and she'll -be better trimmed. I've kept the boat well wet down since we sailed, -and she's dry as a bone." - -The two women obeyed. Nora Sayers looked up at Barnes. - -"The other children? And their mother?" - -Barnes tried to speak, but his throat was suddenly dry. - -"I--damn it, girl, don't make me think of it! I did what I could. -Go to sleep." - -Ellen Maggs caught her breath sharply. Then, after a moment, Barnes -felt her hand touch his, and he gripped her fingers. Both women were -crying, he thought; but after a little they fell quiet, lulled by the -regular rise and fall of the boat, by the long forward sweep, the -rush and hiss of water as she drove along on a crest, and the tilted -drop into the trough only to gather impetus anew and hurl forward. - -The curling sweep of wind and sea, like a cleansing breath, wiped out -all that was behind them and lessened the sharp memory. Once Barnes, -looking back, saw a searchlight fingering the water; that was all. -The stars blazed cold and brilliant, and the thin crescent of the new -moon hung like green silver against the depths above. So passed the -hours, and the boat rushed ever onward and onward under the steady -sweep of wind. Barnes held her on the same course the _Sulu Queen_ -had been following, to make the Bornean coast. They were far out of -any steamer track, and there was no hope of being picked up unless by -some chance trading schooner. - -Dawn found them steadily bowling along. Li Fu had crept aft and -relieved Barnes of the tiller; and Barnes, resting against the -stern-thwart, opened his eyes to find the head of Ellen Maggs -pillowed upon his shirt, and his arms about her shoulders. How this -had come about, he had not the least idea, but made no objection to -the arrangement. - -Perhaps aroused by his awakening stir, the girl opened her eyes a -moment later. Nora Sayers was sleeping peacefully. Barnes felt -Ellen Maggs catch her breath at sight of the ocean and sky that -closed them in, then saw the color come into her cheeks. Before she -turned to glance at him, he closed his eyes again. She did not move, -but, after realizing the situation, accepted it. Above them the lean -form of Li Fu crouched at the tiller, dark eyes sweeping the water -ahead. - -"Awake?" asked Barnes after a moment. "Don't move. Sailing a -whaleboat before the wind, even with a centreboard, is about as -ticklish as canoeing. Comfortable?" - -"Very, thank you," she responded, although he could see that the -color lingered in her cheeks. - -"When the kids wake up, we'll stretch our legs a bit and break out -some grub," said Barnes. She was silent for a space, then spoke -quietly. - -"Are we going anywhere? Have you seen any ship, or will any see us?" - -"Going to Borneo. We'll raise the coast as soon as the sun's up. We -won't see any ship unless she sees us first, however." - -"But I thought we might see one, and catch her attention----" - -Jim Barnes chuckled at this. - -"No chance! Novels to the contrary, it just ain't done. A small -boat has a horizon of two and a half miles. We could see another -boat a mile farther. The bridge of a ship can see us fifteen miles -away, and would be sure not to miss our sails. So by the time we saw -a ship, she'd be bearing down to take us on board. But we'll not see -any; we're way out of the steamer lane." - -Behind the boat, all the eastern sky reddened and streamed with the -dawn-shafts, and the sun sprang suddenly from the sea-rim, piercing -the haze and mist of dawn with his level rays of gold. Li Fu bent -down and touched the shoulder of Barnes. The latter looked. Out -ahead of them a purple mass was upheaved above the horizon, running -north and south. - -"Look!" Barnes pointed it out to the girl. "There's Borneo. If the -wind holds, we'll make the coast in a couple of hours. The wind's -shifting around to the north, too. Wake up, Hi John! Take in your -boom, bring the sheet aft, and let the foresail gybe. Mind your -helm, Li Fu, as she wears----" - -The whaleboat came over nicely, but as she heeled the three children -wakened and began to cry out. Nora Sayers sat up, bewildered, then -quickly began to mother the little ones. Hi John came aft and -relieved Li Fu, who, with Barnes, set to work breaking out the cabin -stores put aboard the boat. - -When breakfast was somewhat precariously made an end of, Barnes -turned over the forward portion of the boat to the two women and -their charges, bringing the quartermasters back in the stern with -him. With the spare sail he contrived a low screen which afforded -the women some privacy without lessening the windage of the sails. - -Li Fu curled up to sleep, but Hi John, with a serious effort to -improve his English, questioned Barnes about their course and then -delivered himself of a matter which drew Barnes' immediate and -earnest attention. - -The quartermaster had discovered that the captain had changed the -course of the _Sulu Queen_ toward Borneo by reason of something the -serang Gajah had said to him. Further, he knew that there was much -opium on the steamer, which Lim Tock meant to transfer to a junk -which was to meet her somewhere. Putting these facts together, the -inference was that the _Sulu Queen_ was to meet the junk somewhere -near the mouth of the Sesajap, for which the skipper had headed her. - -"I don't know but what you're right, John," said Barnes thoughtfully. -"We might run into that junk, eh? But no great matter if we did. -They'd be Chinese and would leave us alone." - -Hi John shook his head at this. The boat was stenciled with the name -of the _Sulu Queen_, and the men aboard the junk would not be exactly -fools. Barnes nodded assent. - -"You're right. Still, the chances are ten to one that we'll not see -her. How badly did you smash those engines? What did you do to -them?" - -"Me no savvy," said the quartermaster with a shrug. He had smashed -them, and that was all he knew, except that he had done it in a hurry -and at considerable risk. - -Jim Barnes had fetched along no charts, but needed none for this -coast. To the north was Point Elphinstone and British territory, and -no settlements along the coast. To the south were several Dutch -stations within a hundred miles or so. As Hi John claimed to know -the coast fairly well, Barnes decided to run straight in for the -land, if possible identify their position, and then strike south for -the nearest Dutch settlement. The boat was staunch; the storm season -was gone, and there was nothing to fear. - -"And the quicker I can get a gunboat after that devil, Lim Tock, the -better!" reflected Barnes. He still saw red at thought of what he -had witnessed the previous night. - - -An hour passed, and another, and the coast opened up before them as -the breeze held. The mountains of the interior rose in a dull purple -mass, against which stood the brighter green of the low shores. An -island presently detached itself to the north, and after studying the -coast-line carefully, Hi John declared this to be Bunju, with the -island of Tarakan a little off the port bow. South of Tarakan were -Dutch posts on the Bulangan River mouths, so Barnes let her fill off -a little, heading southeast by east. - -The children, meantime, had begun to explore, and two of them -appeared aft, staring at the three men with wondering brown eyes, but -too shy to talk. Barnes was paying little heed to them; both he and -Hi John were examining the coast ahead. Then, suddenly, Li Fu -uncurled, and came out of his sleep with a blood-curdling yell. - -For an instant Barnes thought the quartermaster had gone mad, until -he saw the man staring at the wet leg of his dungaree trousers. Wet! -A chattering cry from Li Fu drove the warning home. He plunged -forward. - -"Drop it, you little rascal! Drop it!" - -It was one of those slight accidents upon which destiny hangs and -veers. The Arab boy had found the lanyard of the plug in the boat's -bottom, and now stood holding up the plug curiously while the water -spouted into her. - -At the cry and plunge of Barnes, the boy scrambled away forward. -Nora Sayers came aft, and ran into him. They fell together, just as -Barnes flung himself on the plug and attempted to replace it. Hi -John, too startled to mind his helm properly, let her yaw on the -crest of a wave--and the big mainsail gybed. - -Barnes, who had jammed the plug back into place, thought she was -gone; but the water that she had shipped saved her in that instant. -The mast, bone-dry and rotten, went with a rending crash, smashing -the sprit with it. She swept up on the next sea with a pile of -canvas dragging over her bow and the frightened children screaming. - -Seizing Li Fu's knife, Barnes went into the tangle furiously, for -somewhere beneath it was Ellen Maggs. He found her unhurt, however, -her arms about the youngest child. - -"Lord, girl! I thought the mast had hit you. Get aft, now. Both of -you girls take pannikins and bail. Li, put out an oar and keep her -from broaching. John, come along and help clear away. Move sharp, -everybody!" - -In five minutes the dripping canvas was hauled in amidships and the -damage ascertained. The sprit was gone beyond repair, and the upper -half of the mast. Against the stump, Barnes held an oar while Hi -John deftly lashed it in place. - -"What happened?" demanded Nora Sayers. - -"We all picked the lee side to fall on," and Barnes laughed as he -spoke. "Cheer up! No harm done! We'll run into shore and replace -the spars, then be on our way. Eh, John?" - -"Can do," grunted Hi John, examining the coast line. "Plenty bamboo. -Hey! Catchum sail off sta'board counter!" - -Barnes leaped to a thwart and took one look to the north. A brown, -square sail was in sight, creeping from behind one of the islands. - -He turned. - -"Now, John, move! Get that canvas up, anyway at all so it'll -draw--come on! Use that long piece of the sprit for a gaff; lash the -canvas to it and then lash it as high on the oar as you can. Look -alive! That's your junk, yonder." - -The two men fell furiously to work, while the women bailed and Li Fu -tugged at the long oar to keep the whaleboat from broaching. And the -brownish yellow matting sail crept down on them like an ungainly -water-spider. - - - - -V - -Under the rapid directions of Barnes, the whaleboat was presently -surging through the water again, while he took the tiller and the -quartermasters finished the bailing. Both women sat a bit aft to -trim the boat anew; and, as they had worked diligently at Cantonese -while fitting themselves for mission duties, they understood the -tongue more or less. Neither of the quartermasters was aware of the -fact. Barnes spoke it not at all. - -"Our master is in love with this drooping girl," said Li Fu -chantingly, as he bailed. "Lim Tock desired her also. She must have -a devil that charms some men, for she is of no beauty in my eyes." - -Hi John laughed harshly. "If those aboard the junk see the women, -they will try hard for us! Lim Tock was a Straits man; to him white -women are beautiful. These others are Straits men, too, I think. -Women are more desirable than gold, and white women than pearls; for -white women are hard to come by in Singapore, unless one----" - -He went on to speak learnedly of matters which, by good fortune, came -in words that the two women had not learned. As it was, they gave -each other a startled glance. Then Ellen Maggs motioned to the spare -sail. - -"Get it, Nora. Lie down and pull it over us." - -Barnes saw the action, and his eyes narrowed perplexedly. Then he -understood, and a smile touched his lips. - -"Good work, girls! Get the kids with you. Li and John, lie down -here by the after thwart, in the trough of the next wave. Chances -are they won't have very good glasses aboard the junk. We'll puzzle -'em a bit and make 'em suspicious." - -Once again the slender accident upon which hangs fortune! Although -the junk was at least three miles from them, Barnes had swiftly -estimated her course and sailing power, and had come to the desperate -conclusion that she meant to intercept them and would do so before -they could make the shore. Her large forward and smaller after sail -were putting her through the water almost dead before the wind at a -fast clip. - -Now, when the whaleboat rose to the following seas, she presented the -spectacle of a boat under jury rig manned by a single figure in the -stern. Other figures had been aboard her; now they were gone. To -those on the junk, familiar with the artifices of Malay and Dyak, -familiar with theft and murder and piracy by quiet lagoon and hidden -river-mouth, it was obvious that the thirty-foot whaleboat wished -them to think only one person was aboard. The others might be lying -hidden with weapons ready under mats and sails--as they were. - -Jim Barnes hauled in his sheets until the whaleboat began to heel, -and headed up more directly For the shore, sailing by the wind and -getting every possible fraction of speed out of her. Watching -narrowly, he saw the brown matting sail braced around. The junk -altered her course slightly, to run past the stern of the whaleboat -and reconnoitre. - -"Good!" he exclaimed, with a breath of relief. "We've won--he's -frightened! Everybody stay close, now. We don't want her to learn -too much. Li Fu, feel around there and pass me up the crutch for the -steering oar, and you, John, have one of the oars ready. I'll ship -the crutch and get out the oar. That'll give us better steering -power and add a bit to our speed. We'll need the oar in the surf, if -there is any." - -Five minutes later the change was made and Barnes stood up to the -long oar, which kept the boat from yawing and thus aided her -progress. Her makeshift rig was holding and promised to effect its -purpose. - -So it did, indeed. Another twenty minutes made so plain to the junk -that the whaleboat could not be intercepted, that she hauled about -and stood off-shore, giving up the chase entirely. Barnes jubilantly -conveyed the news to all hands, but added a warning word. - -"Stay where you are! We don't want her coming in later to -investigate us. John, stand by the centreboard and haul up when I -give the word. There's a lagoon ahead, and we may find a bar at the -entrance. No sign of any, but that don't always signify----" - -He craned anxiously forward as he stood, examining the shores upon -which they were sweeping. They were low and unhealthy. From the -water ascended a line, a tangled cluster of mangrove roots twisted -like frozen snakes, with the green wall above. Here and there, -however, openings showed that behind these islets lay long lagoons. -For one of these openings Barnes steered, forced to take chances on -striking a sandbar. He looked back from a crest and found the brown -sail dipping under the horizon. - -"All clear! Come alive! Ready for a shock if she strikes, girls. -Haul in, John! That's the ticket!" - -In between the trees, they rushed on a white foam-crest, swept past, -and went darting across the quiet surface of a lagoon, the sails -flapping. A hundred yards in width it was, the mangrove wall on one -side, and on the other a strip of white sand with jungle greenery -making another wall to shut off the sky. The boat glided gently -across and drifted until her nose touched the sand. With a breath of -relief, Barnes dropped his oar. - -Then the heat smote them, blazing, torrential, insufferable. There -in the quiet lagoon, cut off from wind and sea, the sun beat down -unchecked. Nora Sayers, coming to her feet, glanced at the watch on -her wrist and uttered a cry of surprise. - -"Good gracious! Do you know that it's nearly noon? No wonder it's -hot----" - -"Sit down!" ordered Barnes. "Pull her up, lads." - -Leaping into the water, the quartermasters pulled the nose of the -whaleboat to the sand and helped the two women and the children out. - -"All ashore!" sang out Barnes. "Li Fu, you and John cut a new mast -and sprit. Bamboo, if you can find it; if not, whatever you can get. -Miss Sayers, keep your eye on the kids, will you? Miss--er--Ellen, -will you take this stuff as I hand it out? We'll use the spare -canvas for table-cloth, and have a bang-up feed to celebrate. You -girls are getting your money's worth this cruise! How do you like -Borneo?" - -Nora Sayers had no time to answer, for the three brown children had -promptly stripped and were plunging through the water or catching -sand-fleas, and she was in laughing pursuit. Ellen Maggs smiled as -she took the provisions that Barnes handed out. - -"I--why, I like it!" she said, her eyes big with wonder at the things -around, and sparkling with eagerness. "I'm frightened, and happy, -and--don't want to go back! Are there any savages around?" - -"Probably a few head-hunters, but they won't worry us. Here's a tin -of sardines." - -With her next load the girl was laughing at sight of Nora Sayers -rounding up her charges. - -"I wish we could do that, too! The water looks so clean, and the -sand so white." - -"Nothing to prevent," said Barnes, chuckling. "After lunch we'll get -the boat rigged. You and Nora can slip up around that point, take -the kids along and enjoy life. No sharks of any size in here, and no -crocodiles in salt water, I guess. You might catch a stingaree, but -not much chance. While you're gone, I'll have a dip myself." - -Nora Sayers and the excited, chattering brown children rejoined them, -and presently their noon meal was ready. Barnes sent up a call, -which was answered from the depths of the green jungle, but the meal -was half over when Li Fu and Hi John appeared. They were hot and -bedraggled, but exultantly produced two admirable spars of bamboo, -each of the right size, for mast and sprit. - -Nora Sayers, energetic and vigorous despite the heat, went exploring -and announced the discovery of a little cove, just around a sandy -point. So, taking the children, she and Ellen Maggs presently -departed thither, and the joyful shrieks of splashing youngsters soon -echoed through the lagoon. - -Jim Barnes lighted his pipe and fell to work on the spars, at which -the quartermasters joined him after their meal. It was no light job, -since he was determined to have everything shipshape for the proper -handling of the boat, and the sheath-knives made slow work of the -fibrous bamboo. It was an hour before the mast was stepped and -rigged to his satisfaction. Then he enjoyed a quick dip, and was -dressed again when the others returned. The Chinese went in search -of crabs, to vary their diet. - -The two women found Barnes sitting on the sand, his pipe alight and a -frown on his face, as he studied the opposite shore of the lagoon. - -"Are you all ready to get off?" asked Nora. - -"Ready and waiting." Barnes grinned cheerfully. "Look at the -channel over there, by which we came in. Notice anything funny about -it?" - -Both women looked, perplexed, but could find no explanation of his -words. Barnes pointed to the sand about the bow of the boat. - -"There's the answer, girls. Tide! It must have been on the ebb when -we got here. Now she's gone down, and there isn't three inches of -water over the bar. We're stuck until about five o'clock, that's -all! I'm taking no chances with a thin-skinned whaleboat." - -"We can't get out, then?" queried Ellen Maggs. - -"Right. We can fish and sew and smoke and talk, and hunt crabs, but -we can't leave. By four or five o'clock we may scrape over. Why -worry? We're a lot better off than we might have been. Not often -you strike a sand beach along these mangrove swamps, I can tell you! -We'll stretch the spare sail as an awning for the kids and let 'em -sleep." - -Using the broken spars, and Nora Sayers aiding him, he stretched the -canvas from the side of the boat and the three children were soon -asleep in the shade. Retiring to the edge of the trees, the three -awaited the return of the quartermasters. Barnes sighed luxuriously. - -"Golly! This is the first vacation I've had in a long while. Hope -you girls won't lose your jobs if you don't get back to China on -schedule?" - -"I guess not," said Ellen Maggs. "What brought you on that awful -ship, Mr. Barnes?" - -Barnes gave her a look of whimsical reproach. - -"Now, now, I'm surprised at you! My name isn't Mister--it's Jim! -Make believe we're on a desert isle, can't you?" - -Ellen Maggs blushed faintly, but her eyes were sparkling when she -responded. - -"All right--Jim! Now what brought you on that ship?" - -"Fate," said Jim Barnes, grinning. "Do you girls remember that -morning you came into the consul's office in Hong Kong?" - -Both women glanced at him, surprised. - -"Were you there?" demanded Nora Sayers. "We didn't see you?". - -"I was there when you left, after talking with the consul about the -_Sulu Queen_" he responded. "You were too excited to notice me, -though. The consul's a good sport. He knew the old hooker was no -ship for me, but he said you girls were stubborn and were going to -take the trip aboard her----" - -"The rates," put in Ellen Maggs meekly, "were half what the other -steamers wanted." - -"Sure. So's the pay they offered me. 'You go along on that -houseboat of corruption, Barnes,' the consul said. 'She needs a -second, and there ought to be one white man aboard her if those fool -girls are determined to sail.' So, having seen you girls, I agreed -with him--and here we are! And believe me, I'm tickled to death that -I shipped aboard her." - -"So am I," said Nora Sayers laughing frankly. Ellen Maggs said -nothing at all, but Barnes caught a look from her eyes that set his -pulses leaping. - -Li Fu and Hi John returned with a mighty loot of crabs and sea-slugs -garnered from the outer reef, and reported that no sail was in sight, -nor was any trail of smoke along the horizon. While the women -shudderingly eyed the hideous slugs and the children poked at them -with sticks, Barnes got a fire going from dry driftwood and the -crab-meat was cooked. The two Chinese squatted over another fire and -prepared the slugs after their own fashion. - -The repast was flavored with curiosity rather than hunger. By the -time it was done, Nora Sayers announced the hour as nearly four. Jim -Barnes glanced out at the bar, and nodded. The tide was creeping in. - -"All aboard! We'll try it, anyhow. Unship the tiller, Li! She -steers and handles much better with the oar." - -Thankful to escape from the unstirred, stagnant heat of the lagoon, -the women and children were aided into the boat after it had been -shoved clear. Barnes took the stern; the quartermasters ran her out -and leaped aboard, getting out oars. - -"Wind's going down outside," announced Barnes, as they neared the -opening. "We'll keep along the coast during the night, however, and -with morning ought to run into some native fishing boats. We can -soon find where the nearest Dutch post is located. Here we are, now! -In oars, men! Stand by the centreboard, John. Li Fu, take care of -the sheets!" - -The boat's keel touched the mud of the bar lightly, very lightly, and -then was over. There had been surf in the morning, but now it was -gone, except for a line of breakers fifty feet away. The sails -caught the breeze, the boat heeled over, and a moment later Barnes -luffed and drove her through the surf, to fall away on the other tack -and head out to the southward. - -Then, as he stood watching the sails, his eyes widened. Before him, -seemingly without cause, had appeared a little round hole in the -mainsail. An instant later the crack of a rifle came on the wind. -He turned, as a shout broke from Li Fu, and perceived what none of -them had observed in the moment of getting through the surf. - -Half a mile to the north along the mangrove reef was the same junk -they had encountered earlier in the day; and, between her and them, -bearing down upon them and booming along with the breeze, were three -ship's boats with canvas set. - -"Our boats!" cried Jim Barnes. "They sank the ship and came along in -the boats. Down, everybody! John, get those water breakers aft to -trim ship. Down!" - -Another rifle-crack emphasized his words, and then the sharp song of -the bullet whining overhead, followed by a chorus of yells from the -three boats. - - - - -VI - -Barnes stood at the steering oar, holding the long ash deep and -giving the whaleboat every ounce of windage that would drive her -forward. Shot after shot rang out from the pursuing boats, which -were filled with men. - -He could picture well enough what had happened. Lim Tock, unable to -repair the smashed engines of the _Sulu Queen_, had sunk her. Into -the boats had piled the lascars and the yellow men, with their loot -and opium, and started for the coast. They must have met the junk -during the day, put the loot aboard her, heard of the whaleboat, and -had come to seek her. Lim Tock would not dare to let her escape to -carry tales. - -"And now they've found us right enough!" he thought. "Caught us, -confound it! If they didn't have rifles, I'd run out to sea and -fight 'em with seamanship. Those lascars can't begin to handle -whaleboats. If we only had a good mile between us! But the wind's -falling. It'll die out, and won't come up again until after sunset. -And by that time they'll crawl up on us with the oars. Damn it!" - -The bullets droned overhead. One man at a time seemed to be firing -until his magazine emptied. There were good shots among the -pursuers, too; several holes were visible in the mainsail, and twice -Barnes had felt hot lead come close. It dawned upon him that they -were firing at his figure. - -"Are we beating them?" called Nora Sayers. - -"No," said Barnes grimly. In his appraisal he found the case -hopeless, desperate; and he put it bluntly enough, explaining that -the oarsmen aboard the pursuing boats, and the calm that was certain -to fall, insured their being overtaken. The Chinese listened calmly, -with clear understanding; the two women comprehending well enough, -but urging him desperately with their eyes. - -The whaleboat was reaching out on the starboard tack, as she had left -the lagoon opening. The land fell away to the southwest, so that she -was standing practically out to sea while running almost before the -wind. - -"We'll have to run for the land, and do it quick," said Barnes. "We -don't dare to tack; we'll have to wear. The breeze is still pretty -fresh, and they're apparently badly out of trim; good! Now you'll -see some fun, girls. I'll bet a trade dollar that one of 'em gets -spilled. Nora, come a bit aft and sit on the lee thwart--that's -right. Revolvers loaded, men?" - -The quartermasters answered with a nod. Barnes commanded Li Fu to -stand by the fore sheet and, when the helm was put up, to empty his -weapon at the nearest of the three boats. - -"You take charge of the main sheet, John. Those lascars will imitate -us, and we'll give 'em something to imitate, or I'm a Dutchman! All -right, John--slack away, roundly! Haul in--haul in! Let her gybe, -now--smart does it! Ease away, now----" - -The staccato reports of Li Fu's revolver cracked emptily down the -wind. The boat went off before the wind, and the mainsail was hauled -in and gybed dangerously, then was eased away as she paid off on the -new tack. Li Fu, dropping his weapon, handled the fore sheet smartly -to meet her by the wind. - -A jubilant yell broke from Barnes as he glanced backward. The -foremost pursuer, confused by Li Fu's bullets, tried to wear hastily -and suddenly. Her mainsail hauled around in a terrific jibe that -sent her flat over. Heads dotted the water about the craft, but the -other two boats managed the trick safely and stood away without -halting to pick up their companions. A renewed rifle-fire opened -from them. - -"Fire and be damned to you!" shouted Barnes in delight. "If I had -you out at sea and the wind steady, I'd show you tricks, you dogs! -That's one of you gone, and the junk will be delayed picking up----" - -The words seemed suddenly checked on his lips; a grunt broke from -him, an abrupt ejaculation of surprise and almost alarm. The -occasion of it did not appear. - -"Can either of you men steer with the oar?" he demanded. - -Li Fu shook his head. Hi John assented with a nod, and Barnes -beckoned him. Picking his way aft, Hi John took over the oar. - -"You see that point dead ahead, with what seems to be a river-mouth -on the other side? Head for it, or a couple of points to starboard -of it to allow for leeway. And make the river, John--good man----" - -Barnes spoke jerkily. For an instant he changed countenance; an -expression of agony leaped across his face. He started forward. A -cry broke from Ellen Maggs. - -"Catch him, Li Fu!" - -But Jim Barnes sank down on the thwart beside Nora Sayers, and, -smiling a little, reached up one of his automatics to Li Fu. - -"Here, Li! Go aft to keep her trimmed, and let 'em have it. Fire -low; those bullets will smash through the boat." - -Li Fu stepped past him. Barnes, disregarding the hand of Nora -Sayers, lifted himself forward a little and dropped near the bow -thwart, beside Ellen Maggs. The three children were up in the bow, -chattering away and delighted with the chase. - -"You're hurt?" cried Ellen Maggs, leaning toward Barnes. He laughed -lightly, though his lips were graying, as he looked into her eyes. - -"Aye. Nora, pass up that little black medicine chest, will you? -It's stowed under your thwart, I think, with the lantern and other -stuff that was in the boat. Does either of you girls know anything -about surgery?" - -"I do," said Ellen Maggs. Her cheeks were very white, her eyes -large. "Only a little----" - -Barnes put his hand under his shirt and examined his side gingerly. -Then, with a grimace, he wriggled out of his jacket. He took the -sheath-knife which Li Fu tossed forward on demand, and cut at the -right side of his shirt. Nora Sayers, her face drawn and anxious, -would have come with the medicine case, but Barnes checked her. - -"Stay where you are, Nora. We're fighting to reach land ahead of -those devils, and every bit of trim to the boat counts a lot. Throw -it; that's right. Now Ellen, the bullet went in under the right arm -and is bulging out the skin here on my right side. Cut the skin and -it'll pop out. I'm not left-handed or I could do it. Then douse on -plenty of iodine fore and aft, and clap on some kind of a bandage." - -He lay back and threw up his arms, gripping the corks outside the -gunwale, and so lay motionless, waiting. The girl leaned forward, -her lips clenched. - -"Don't worry; it won't hurt," he said easily. "You, Li Fu! Open up. -Are they gaining on us, or holding steady?" - -"Plenty steady," responded the quartermaster. At the next wave-crest -he fired. - -His feet braced, Barnes lay motionless, and a smile crept to his -pallid lips as he noted the deft certainty with which the girl -attacked her task. Twice she started to cut, and flinched; then, -desperately, she set the keen steel to the white skin. In five -seconds it was done. The bullet fell from her reddened fingers and -bounced on the thin sheathing. - -"Steady, steady!" said Barnes quietly, seeing her lips quiver. "Now -the smelly stuff and the bandages, girl." A sudden exclamation from -the Chinese made him glance up. "What is it, men? What is it?" - -"That last shot plenty damn good; first-chop!" responded Li Fu, -staring out. "Hai! Catchum bottomside one time!" - -"Fine work!" cried Barnes. "That's two out of the race. Ripped -through her sheathing, eh? Anybody hurt?" - -"My no can see--catchum one damn coolie, mebbeso. Bail like hellee!" - -"Good! Do the same to the other boat if you can." - -"Can do," asserted Li Fu confidently, but he failed to make good his -promise. The one shot that caused one of the two pursuers to limp -behind was doubtless sheer luck. - -"Turn over, please," came the voice of Ellen Maggs. - -Barnes obeyed. The girl caught her breath as his blood-soaked back -was revealed, while Nora Sayers leaned forward and directed her, -aiding as best she could. - -"How's the wind?" demanded Barnes, while the bandage was being -wrapped in place. - -"Go down plenty quick," responded Li Fu, examining the empty weapon. -"No can do. I think Lim Tock in this boat. Plenty joss." - -"Huh! Joss won't save him if I get a good crack at the devil," -commented Barnes, as he lay face-down. "Going to make the river, -John?" - -"Aye. Can do." - -"It's done," said Ellen Maggs, her voice very faint. - -Barnes lifted himself stiffly and sat up. He saw the girl smile -tremulously. Then her face went ashen and she dropped back against -the lee gunwale and lay quiet. Barnes looked up at Nora Sayers. - -"Leave her be," he said quietly. "Poor girl! Must have been hell -for her." - -"It was," agreed Nora Sayers, regarding him almost savagely. "Why -didn't you let me do it? She wasn't made for that sort of thing, -although she's a wonderful surgical assistant. I saw her faint -twice, one morning at Tientsin, when they were working on the wounded -men. She ought to be cooking and tending babies, instead of messing -around blood and wounds!" - -"Good lord, don't take it out on me!" said Barnes, and smiled a -little. "I didn't send her out to China, did I? But it won't be my -fault if she ever goes back, I can tell you that! Come on, swap -places with me and mother her a bit. I've got to see what's doing. -We've got a darned slim chance even if we do get ashore, and we can't -overlook any bets." - -He dragged himself painfully to the thwart, Nora Sayers aiding him. -Then, as he sat up, she took the head of Ellen Maggs in her lap. - -To his infinite relief, Barnes perceived that they were more than -holding their own in the chase, and, if the wind had held, might have -run for it successfully. But the wind would not hold. Already it -was dying out. Looking back, he could see the brown matting sails of -the junk flapping idly as she lay to, picking up the men from the -capsized boat. The second boat, half submerged, was heading back for -her. - -Only the third boat held on its course. As nearly as Barnes could -tell, there were a dozen men aboard her, but without glasses he could -not distinguish figures to the extent of identifying them. He took -the empty weapon from Li Fu and began to reload. - -"None too many cartridges left; we didn't figure on a little war," he -commented, and turned his attention to the shore. - -A breath of relief escaped him. The shore was a scant quarter-mile -away, and the wind would get them to it. Hi John had made the -promontory, a low, mangrove-rimmed tongue of land, and was heading -toward the river-mouth which had disclosed itself beyond. The stream -was one of some size, thickly girt by trees and jungle. - -A single line of surf, breaking across the bar, was divided by a -small, narrow island of white sand, where a few trees struggled. -With extra high tides the island would be covered, Barnes decided, -but not at present. - -"Right-hand channel, John," he directed. "Then beach her on that -island. If we don't get that boat stopped, she'll do for us; but we -can stop her. Ellen waked up yet?" - -"Not yet," said Nora Sayers. - -"Then leave her alone. The next ten minutes tells the tale. Give me -that gun of hers." - -The girl obeyed. A shrill cry from Hi John heralded the surf-line, -and as the boat rose to it, the sail began to flap. The wind was -down. - - - - -VII - -Sunset was at hand. The red ball of the sun, blurred out of -rotundity by the haze, hovered at the purple rim of the western -mountains as though hesitating to depart. - -The boat was through the surf, carried forward by the white crest in -a surging rush. A last puff of wind filled her sails and gave her -way enough to get over the bar and go in upon the sandy shore of the -islet. Here the trees and brush, while nothing like the tangled mass -of jungle ashore, were thick enough to afford concealment. This was -not the aim of Barnes, however. - -"Haul her up, lads!" To his order the quartermasters leaped out. -"You girls stay here and keep the kids quiet. If they have the nerve -to rush, we're gone; but they won't. Here, John, give me a hand! -Quick!" - -He was helped ashore, finding himself very weak but clear-headed. -Each of the Chinese had a revolver. Barnes had two automatics and -the one belonging to Ellen. He gave his directions swiftly, and the -two men darted into the brush. Barnes leaned against the nearest -tree and waited, watching the canvas of the pursuing boat come flying -in with the last dregs of the breeze. - -At last she came, rising on the gathering surge of the breaking surf, -bow flinging high, steersman standing at the straining, oar in the -stern. As she lifted against the flaming sky, Barnes threw up his -automatic and fired. The oarsman crumpled up. From three points the -islet spat bullets at the nearing boat, sweeping her with the hot -lead. - -By some miracle, the expected did not happen. Instead of capsizing, -the boat swept in on the surf, and paused. A rifle spat response -vainly. Men were tumbling, falling over the thwarts, shrieking and -yelling oaths. The figure of Lim Tock, in the bow, staggered and -went down, but his voice pierced through the din continually. - -An oar was put out, and another. Of the dozen men aboard her, not -half survived that blasting welcome. Revolvers and pistols had been -emptied. Frantically the gasping men got the boat headed around to -meet the surf. Two more oars jabbed out. Barnes lifted Ellen Maggs' -pistol and shot with deliberate aim. Two of the oarsmen sprawled -down. Somehow the boat crawled out again, in an interval of the -surf, and began to draw away. Barnes, disappointed and raging, -emptied his last bullets at her. For a while she floated there, -until the oars bit at the water and pulled her slowly away. - -"Damn it!" said Barnes bitterly, as the quartermasters came back, -reloading. "Came within an ace of capsizing him; came within an ace -of getting him and bagging his rifles! And missed. Now we've lost -the whole trick after all." - -"Plenty joss along Lim Tock," commented Hi John. - -Barnes wearily turned to the boat and seated himself on the gunwale, -while at his order the two men unshipped the spars and canvas. Ellen -Maggs still lay unconscious, her head in the lap of Nora Sayers, who, -was looking up at Barnes with glad eyes. - -"We've won? You beat them off?" - -Barnes mechanically felt for his pipe, filled it, and held a match to -it. - -"No," he said, his voice bitter. "We'd have won if we'd got their -rifles and killed that devil, Lim Tock. We only drove him off--and -we've lost, absolutely. Leave the spars here ashore, John; put the -canvas aboard--that's right. Lay her on the canvas, Nora, and take -it easy. You'll need the sails for a covering against the -night-mist." - -When she had made the unconscious girl comfortable with the canvas, -Nora Sayers rose and stepped ashore, where the three children were -already ranging happily. - -"What do you mean?" she demanded. "How have we lost?" - -Barnes jerked his pipe to seaward. - -"They're bound to silence us at all costs, aren't they? Sure. -They've plenty of men aboard the junk and those other boats. It'll -probably remain calm until sunrise, now, and we can't possibly get to -sea. We can use only two oars. The inference is obvious." - -She could not mistake it, and nodded slowly. Barnes turned to the -two Chinese. - -"Any idea where we are, John?" - -Hi John nodded, and squatted in the sand with a stick. In the sand -he drew several converging lines, designed to represent the delta and -mouths of a large river. He pointed to one, then indicated the river -beside them. - -"I think Bulungan River," he said. "We go up, bimeby we come -topside. Big river." - -"You may be right, John--and look here! There's a Dutch post -somewhere up the Bulungan----" - -"Two," said the quartermaster. "Plenty big river, topside." - -Barnes looked at the recumbent figure of Ellen Maggs in the boat, -looked at the three children playing in the sand. In the warm, clear -light of the sunset, the perplexed frown of his face was plain to be -seen. He looked anxious, yet his blue eyes were stormy and filled -with a passionate anger as though he were rebelling against something -that he saw was unavoidable. He came to his feet and paused. - -"Dutch posts?" cried Nora Sayers eagerly. "Then we can row up the -river!" - -Barnes looked at her, and under the regard of his eyes she fell -silent. - -"Yes, you can," he said. "Sure. And so can those devils, unless -there's something right here to stop 'em! Besides, it's a long -chance. We don't know for sure that it's the Bulungan River, or one -of the mouths. That's the devil of destiny; it never gives a man a -fair show for his white alley! The cards are stacked every time." - -He glanced at the sky. There was yet half an hour of daylight, for -the sun was down behind the western mountains of Borneo, and the -afterglow would linger for a while. - -"You mean," questioned the girl, "that they can row so much faster -than we can?" - -"Exactly. A dozen oars to our two. The Dutch posts, if they're -here, are probably miles up-river. They are trading posts, you know, -in touch with the natives. We might hide somewhere along the river, -only to die slowly. Lim Tock will search every inch of the stream, -you may be sure. His own life depends on it." - -"If we could get a messenger up the river----" - -"Yes," said Barnes, and laughed. Nora Sayers bit her lip. - -For a moment he puffed at his pipe, then drew a deep breath and -beckoned the two quartermasters. They came, watching his face -calmly, without emotion. - -"You men will take this boat and row up the stream," he said quietly. -"I confide to your care these two women, and these children. You are -to protect them at all costs. This is----" - -"But--wait!" exclaimed Nora Sayers in dismay. - -"Shut up!" snapped Barnes. "Now, men, this is your duty. They must -be taken up to the Dutch post, wherever it is. It means you must row -most of the night, understand? I shall remain here and stop Lim -Tock's men. I'm no good for rowing--and I can do that. Now, do you -understand?" - -"My savvy. Aye," they responded together. - -"Good. Get to work and lighten the boat, then." - -Barnes put his pipe between his teeth and stepped toward the trees. -He found himself halted, the girl's hand on his arm. He turned, and -was astonished by the emotion that was in her face and eyes. - -"Please!" she said brokenly. "You must not do this. You must not -deliberately sacrifice yourself----" - -"Cut it out, will you?" he roughly intervened. "I know what must be -done here, Nora. I'm not making any grandstand play, either. I can -hold 'em up, and you can send down a Dutch launch with a gun in her. -They have 'em with machine-guns and pom-poms. One o' their launches -could sink that blamed junk in a jiffy! They'll come quick enough, -too! Believe me, those Dutchmen like nothing better than wiping out -pirates, unless it's wiping out plague-ships. They do both jobs up -brown." - -"Stop evading, please," she broke in. "Why are you doing this? Why -don't you leave one of those Chinese here, and go with us?" - -The face of Barnes twisted wryly. - -"Gosh, I wish that I could!" he said almost wistfully. "Nope. -Whoever stays here will have a sweet time of it. Besides, I'm good -for nothing else. Those quartermasters are darned fine men, Nora; -they'll see you through safe. You've got to realize that we're up -against a desperate affair, and no half-way measures will serve!" - -She stared into his eyes for a moment. - -"Is it for the children that you're doing it?" she asked. "They -aren't worth it, I tell you! Three Arab children--they aren't worth -the loss of a man like you!" - -"You know better, girl," he said quietly, and she shivered. - -"Is it--us? Is it for her? Then, do you think she'd want to leave -you? Do you think she'd want to live and know that you had died -here----" - -"Shut up; you'll be hysterical if you keep up this gait," interrupted -Barnes. "Now, young lady, you can gamble good and hard that I don't -want to stay here! Not much. If there was any way out of it, I -wouldn't. I'm not hankering for a martyr's crown or any of that hero -stuff, not for a minute! I'm for keeping Jim Barnes topside every -time. It hurts like hell to realize that there's no other way out. -But here are you girls, and the kids, and somebody has to wait here. -See? It just has to be done, that's all." - -"Then--then you don't believe that--we can reach the post in time?" - -"Well, anything's possible," said Barnes dryly. "Sure, there's a -chance! Now, I want you to get off before Ellen wakes up, see? Let -her sleep as long as she will; this faint of hers is liable to go -into sleep." - - -Meantime, the two quartermasters, while lightening the boat of -everything except food and a breaker of water, had been drinking in -what they could understand of this conversation. Their work -finished, they stood by the bow of the boat and looked at each other -for a moment, silent. At length Li Fu spoke, impassively, -unconcerned. - -"To the superior man, duty is as a clear star shining in the night." - -"So it is written," agreed Hi John. "Give me your revolver and -cartridges." - -"Haste treads upon the tail of a tiger," dissented Li Fu -reflectively. "Here is the revolver. Let us see to whom the gods -assign it. Shall a white man be braver than we?" - -"Very well." - -Li Fu tossed his revolver in the air. It spun, end over end, and -spinning, fell down into the sand. The butt fell toward Li Fu, who -stooped and picked it up. - -"Now give me yours," he said. - -Hi John obeyed without protest, passing over his revolver and what -spare cartridges he had in his pockets. Then he turned and walked to -Barnes and Nora Sayers, who had watched this scene curiously. He -addressed the girl. - -"Missee, I think mebbeso you can row plenty good?" - -"Of course!" she exclaimed. "Of course I can!" - -"Then you row along me," said Hi John. "Li Fu, he stop here." - -Barnes growled something under his breath, and walked over to Li Fu. - -"What's this mean?" he demanded. "You get in that boat and row, -d'you understand?" - -Li Fu regarded him placidly, without emotion, his yellow features -very composed. - -"You go hellee," he said, and then grinned. "My stop along you. -Savvy? Missee plenty stlong, use oar plenty good! You go hellee." - -What he saw in those calm eyes checked the words on the lips of -Barnes. He turned and went to the boat, and waded out along the -gunwale until he was beside the figure of Ellen Maggs. With an -effort, he stooped and touched his lips to her still cheek. - -"Good-by, girl!" he whispered, and then straightened. "Get the kids, -Nora! Come on, pile in; time to get off! Get as far as you can -before it gets dark. Wrap a cloth about your hands, too; they'll be -blistered quick enough." - -Collecting the children, Nora Sayers got into the boat. She held out -her hand to Barnes, who gripped it and smiled cheerfully. - -"Good-by," she said, her voice breaking. "I wish you'd let me wake -her up! She'd want to say-- - -"She'd say I needed a shave damn bad," and Barnes chuckled as he made -reply. "You settle down on this thwart. All ready, men? Shove off. -Good luck to you, Nora! Wrap your hands, now, before you get -started. See you later!" - -The boat glided out, Hi John scrambling aboard as she cleared the -sand. Nora Sayers tried to answer, but could not. Barnes stood -beside Li Fu and waved his hand. - -The boat slowly drew up-river under the pull of the two oars and -vanished around the head of the islet. - - - - -VIII - -"Watch and watch, Li Fu," said Barnes, when night settled down on the -islet, the river-mouth and the booming surf. "I'm done in. Wake me -at midnight; they'll not come until then." - -"Not then, I think," said Li Fu. "China boys not like night devils. -Plenty devils in liver." - -"All right," Barnes laughed as he stretched out in the warm sand. -"Let the river-devils fight for us, then!" - -About midnight the quartermaster wakened him. There had been no -alarm, no sound or sight of the enemy. Only the continuous rolling -crash of the surf, regular and unceasing, conflicted with the noises -of nightbirds from the jungle. The starlight and thin glow of the -sickle moon faintly illumined the white sands and the glittering -waters, where the waves curled and broke in running lines of -phosphorescent radiance. - -At first Barnes found Li Fu's conviction incredible. It was hard to -believe that Lim Tock's lascars and Chinese, the latter probably -predominating, would relinquish the opportunity to sweep in upon the -islet with their boats and finish everything with one determined -rush. The Chinese firmly credited the existence of water-devils, -however, and river-devils in particular, whose power at night was -invincible. - -Barnes sat through his lonely watch, stiff and aching from his wound, -and found no indication of alarm out on the surging waters, where a -heavy ground-swell kept the rollers tumbling in along the shoreline. -He began to think that he had wasted himself, despite all. Had he -stayed in the boat, it by this time would be far up the river. - -He laughed and shook off the thought. After all, he had no assurance -of that! The boat, with only two oars, might be a day or two in -reaching the main river above the delta, where the Dutch post would -be placed. With dawn, the pirates would sweep down on the island. -If they found it deserted, they would go up the river with a rush. -No, the effort was not wasted; was far from wasted! - -Toward dawn he roused Li Fu, and lay down once more to get all the -rest possible. When the quartermaster again wakened him, it was to -point out dark dots on the waters, now overcast with the graying -dawn. The boats, four of them, were scattered a quarter-mile from -the river mouth, up and down from the bar. Jim Barnes laughed softly. - -"They think we'll come out with the first breath o' wind; that we've -been waiting here for the breeze! And they're waiting to riddle us -with their rifles, then close in. Good! Let 'em wait. Every minute -gained puts the whaleboats farther up the river. Suppose we make -some tea, Li Fu. The fire will show that we're here and encourage -'em to wait." - -Chuckling at all this, Li Fu gathered wood and soon had a fire going. -Hot tea and biscuit invigorated Barnes hugely, and he was much -himself again by the time the reddening dawn and freshening daylight -betrayed to the waiting boats that the fugitives were not setting -forth from shore. No doubt they considered that Barnes had laid up -the whaleboat and was prepared to fight it out. - -"They're closing in," said Barnes suddenly. "Oars are out. The junk -is coming down the coast, too. She'll probably anchor off the river, -and they'll pour in a hot rifle-fire before making a rush. Dig for -cover, Li!" - -Grasping the idea, Li Fu took his knife to the sand and prepared two -long, deep depressions at the edge of the brush. - -Meantime, one of the boats drew in closer than the others as though -to test the presence of those on the islet. Barnes sighed -unavailingly for a rifle, as his pistols were of small value at such -distance. He tried two shots, however, and by sheer luck dropped the -boat's helmsman, so that she sheered off promptly. The boats opened -a dropping rifle-fire, and Barnes retired to the position prepared. -Lying beside Li Fu, he waited. He had three automatics and several -spare clips. The quartermaster had two revolvers and a handful of -loose cartridges. - -Under the urge of the ground-swell, surf was now breaking in a heavy -line at the bar, an outer line of breakers stretching twenty yards -farther seaward. While the boats kept up their intermittent fire, -bullets crashing across the island, the junk came slowly along with -the morning breeze. Outside the first line of surf she dropped -anchor and hauled down the brown matting sails, and the boats -converged upon her. Streamers and fingers of flame were reaching -across the whole eastern sky. - -"Plenty of men aboard her," said Barnes. "They'll crowd into the -boats and pull for us. Catch the first boat as she rises, Li, like -we did last night. If one of them goes over in that surf, not a man -will reach shore. Good gosh, look at her rise up! They're fools if -they try it." - -To the two men lying on the sandy islet, the surf promised indeed to -be an excellent protection. The roaring breakers swept on and hurled -up into a great wall of white and crimson spray, against the sunrise, -a ten-foot wall of curling, foaming water whose impact as it came -down made the islet shake and sent a booming roar echoing along the -coast. The tide was coming in, and there was a strong rip along the -bar. - -Now the sun was up, in a gleaming splendor of golden glory. - -As each glittering line of surf swept up and curled, it hid from -sight the boats and all save the upper masts of the junk herself. -Between the surges, the rifle-fire was maintained steadily, but Li Fu -and Barnes were well protected against the ripping storm of lead that -devastated the foliage above and ploughed the sand into ripples of -dancing grains. - -"They come," said Li Fu suddenly. - -The next surf-interval showed a crowded boat leaving the junk. The -craft damaged on the preceding evening by Hi John's bullet must have -sunk, for it appeared that now there were but two whaleboats among -the four approaching craft. One of those, however, would do the -business, thought Jim Barnes grimly. - -Covered by a hot fire from the rifles, the first boat reached in for -the surf, her oars dipping strongly, the other boats following her. -She was a bluff-jawed longboat belonging to the junk, dangerously -crowded with men, and Barnes caught the flame of naked steel as she -lifted on a crest. He thrilled to the possibility of sending her -over as she struck the white wall to cleave a way through. Not a man -would reach shore through the pounding maelstrom of those waters. - -Thundering and shuddering, a long breaker smashed and swirled across -the bar, and now the longboat dipped oars and gathered way to rise on -the next crest and come over. A whirl of bullets heralded her -coming. Then, as the riotous crest closed in and lifted her and the -shots ceased, Barnes came to one knee. He had her position -absolutely fixed, and aimed carefully, firing even before she came -into sight. - -She heaved and lifted, cleaving the water. Barnes fired again and -again, hearing the bark of Li Fu's revolver at his side. A mad yell -broke from the Chinese. Barnes lowered his arm and stared, wide-eyed. - -That first shot of his, perhaps, had done the work; had sent a rower -headlong at the crucial instant. At the very crest of the giant -wave, the boat broached, was sent stern-first. A shriek burst from -the score of men crowded into her, a fearful, splitting shriek that -wrenched through the roar of the surf. Then she was picked up, -hurled end over end from the crest of the wave, flung sideways, and -went upside down beneath the terrific smash of that falling pinnacle -of water. - -A lather of foam spread out from the sweeping rush of the breaker, -but not a man showed in it. They were held down, dragged out with -the backlash, gripped and flung about with the mad swirl under the -surface. The boat itself, a crushed and broken thing, came into -sight, was tugged out and into the next surf-crest, to be whirled -horribly aloft and buried again; but no man of all her crew appeared. - - -The whiff of a bullet made Barnes wake up, and he flung himself into -the sand. Li Fu was yelling in an ecstasy of delight. Then, at the -next interval, Barnes realized that the other boats were coming -forward--two whale-boats, and a smaller craft. - -"Lascars!" yelled Li Fu. "Plenty joss along Lim Tock!" - -The Malays were rowing these boats; seamen unsurpassed. Well, this -was the end of it; useless everything that had been done, once these -boats came through. Barnes caught the arm of the yellow man. - -"Empty one gun--then reload and wait. Savvy?" - -Li Fu nodded hastily. The two whale-boats came on abreast, rowed -with precision, a brown Malay at each steering crutch, the long oars -rising and dipping and hurling her forward with absolute surety. Up -they rose and up, then forward and down, as though leaping from that -high curling wall into the water beyond! - -Barnes found himself firing mechanically, firing until the hammer -clicked on nothing and he slipped one of his extra clips into the -weapon. Useless! A sudden inarticulate cry escaped his lips. The -last bullet had brought down the steersman of the boat to the left. -Almost through, she broached and swerved. The water swung her about, -caught up her keel and spilled her men into the smother. She was -sent rolling along, crushing the men beneath her, pounding on the -sand until the undertow dragged her out and away. - -But the other boat was through. It drove forward toward the islet -with a wild yell lifting from the men aboard, and rifles spattering -lead. And now the smaller boat was in the surf, and riding it. - -"Back!" shouted Barnes. "Back to cover, Li! Fire and reload while I -fire." - -From the shelter of the brush, Li Fu emptied his two revolvers into -the boat. He could hardly miss at this distance, as she came foaming -to the shore. Barnes could see the figure of Lim Tock crouching -amidships, a bandage about his head. Men went down, brown and yellow -men crowded between her thwarts. Rifles and revolvers sent bullets -hailing at the trees, and with the impetus that was upon her, she -came in and her nose touched the beach. - -Barnes was ready, cool, imperturbable. The first man that leaped -from her, he dropped; and the second, and the third. Then the boat -tipped, and brown and yellow came ashore in a mass, Lim Tock heading -them. Krisses and knives flamed in the sunlight. The smaller boat -was reaching into the shore now. The end was at hand. - -Into the mass Barnes planted his bullets steadily. One gun was -empty, now the other. No time to reload--he dropped them and seized -that of Ellen Maggs. Only three or four men left, Lim Tock heading -them! Then a new burst of yells, and from the last boat poured a -dozen fresh assailants, with the serang Gajah at their head, his -unhealed scalp wound red and ominous in the sunlight. - -A scream of battle-madness burst from Li Fu. He leaped forward, out -into the open, and ran at the newcomers. Pistols barked; krisses -glittered. Barnes saw the quartermaster come to grips with Gajah, -and the two men went rolling in the sand. Then, smiling, he lifted -his weapon and shot. - -Lim Tock took the bullet between the eyes, and sprawled forward. -Barnes laughed, and shot again. Then he ducked back into the brush. -An instant later, the brown and yellow men came on in a wave, mad -with the battle fury, blind and deaf to everything around them, -intent only upon the white man who had eluded them. - -From among the trees the weapon of Barnes barked out its last shots. - - - - -IX - -The patrol launch belonging to the Bulungan River post, commanded by. -Controleur Opdyke and manned by stalwart Achinese sepoys, sped -swiftly down the northern branch of the mighty river. The controleur -was highly nervous, for this navigation in the early dawn was an -unaccustomed and perilous thing; further, the girl who stood beside -him, and the tall Chinese at her elbow, were continually urging him -to greater speed. - -Then came the first gleams of sunrise, and the spattering of shots -from below--and the prim, alert controleur needed no further urging. -At his swift command the speed was increased, and the brown sepoys -stripped the cover from the one-pounder up forward. - -Rifles were brought up and loaded. - -They burst into full view of the river-mouth just as the smaller boat -came to the islet and poured forth her men and the wild charge -forward was begun. Controleur Opdyke perceived instantly that he -could not get through the surf to the junk. Being a man of distinct -character, he did not hesitate. Two orders passed his lips. At the -first, the gun crew threw in a shell and sighted; at the second, the -rifles began to speak along the forward deck. - -The little pom-pom barked, and the shell exploded above the junk. It -barked again, and scored a hit. Again, and the junk reeled and -staggered. Then the Achinese were leaping overboard and pouring -ashore, and among them Hi John. - -And after them, despite the imploring commands of the officer, Ellen -Maggs. - -Jim Barnes came face to face with her as he squirmed out of the brush -and brushed the blood from his eyes. A kris had slithered athwart -his scalp; for a moment he thought she was a vision, standing there -in the fresh sunlight, her eyes fastened upon him, her hands -outreaching. Then he heard her voice. - -"Oh, Jim, Jim! If you had only known--it was barely five miles up to -the post! And we were hours getting there. Thank God, you're alive!" - -It was quite as a matter of course that Jim Barnes took her in his -arms and held her close to him for a long moment. Speech came hard. -There was everything to say, and nothing. Suddenly he realized that -she was trembling. - -"Oh, Jim! You'll have to help me. I--I told an awful lie----" - -She was frightened, nervous, tearful, and yet a smile crept into -her-blushing cheeks as she looked up into his eyes. - -"Who to, me?" he asked, returning the smile. - -"No. To--to the controleur. Controleur Updyke. He was terribly -severe about it all. He wouldn't bring Nora, and he wasn't going to -bring me----" - -"What was the lie?" asked Barnes, puzzled. - -Then he looked up to see the officer striding toward them. He -realized abruptly that the little brown soldiers had been very busy -all over the islet. - -"Der junk hass sunk," said the controleur, taking off his helmet. -"Diss iss Mynheer Parnes? I am pleassed to meet you, sir." - -"Same to you," and Barnes grinned as he put out his hand. Even the -primness of Opdyke could not meet that grin without an answering -smile. "Controleur Opdyke? I'm sure much obliged to you. Just came -along in time." - -"Ja. I am glad. Your vrouw, Madame Parnes, she hurried us. Dat -wass goot, too." - -"Oh, so that's it!" Barnes laughed out suddenly, and caught Ellen -Maggs to him. "You little rascal, you! Told him you were my wife, -eh? Well, you will be as quick as it can be managed--won't you? Say -yes!" - -"Yes, Jim,"-she murmured. - -Suddenly Barnes turned. - -"Where's Li Fu?" he demanded. "That Chinese chap who stayed with -me----" - -"He iss badly hurt, but all right," said Opdyke, beginning to -understand things a little. "Sir, dere must be reports made, und -prisoners must be----" - -"Forget it, forget it!" said Barnes, and laughed happily. "This is -Miss Maggs, Controleur. She told you a lie. She's not my wife, but -is going to be. Will you forgive her?" - -Controleur Opdyke met the eyes of Ellen Maggs. Suddenly he smiled, -and tendered her a very deep bow. - -"Diss young man, he iss very lucky," he said. "_Mejuffvrouw_, shall -I make you happy, yes? Den, dere iss a missionary at de post. Now, -if you eggscuse me, I must look after dese t'ings." - -He turned and walked stiffly away toward his men, who were rounding -up sullen captives. But Jim Barnes looked-down into the shining eyes -of the girl. - -"Ellen! Remember that bungalow on the hill above Sausalito that I -told you about? Do you really want it--and a husband who's a sailor -and hasn't a lot o' money? Or would you sooner go back to China?" - -A smile lightened in her face. - -"I'm tired of China, Jim," she said. - -Delightedly, Barnes caught her to him again and stooped to her lips. -Then, with a happy laugh, he straightened up. - -"Missionary at the post, eh? Hurray! Let's go!" - -"Aye, aye, sir," she said obediently. "Go it is, sir--steady as she -is!" - - - -THE END - - - - - - - - - - - -End of the Project Gutenberg EBook of The Second Mate, by Henry Bedford-Jones - -*** END OF THIS PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK THE SECOND MATE *** - -***** This file should be named 60796.txt or 60796.zip ***** -This and all associated files of various formats will be found in: - http://www.gutenberg.org/6/0/7/9/60796/ - -Produced by Al Haines -Updated editions will replace the previous one--the old editions will -be renamed. - -Creating the works from print editions not protected by U.S. copyright -law means that no one owns a United States copyright in these works, -so the Foundation (and you!) can copy and distribute it in the United -States without permission and without paying copyright -royalties. Special rules, set forth in the General Terms of Use part -of this license, apply to copying and distributing Project -Gutenberg-tm electronic works to protect the PROJECT GUTENBERG-tm -concept and trademark. 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